Some of the most clever and powerful word of mouth comes from those who are in the business of getting people to believe in and fight for a cause: political organizations and nonprofit groups.
While their budgets and resources often vary widely, the ones spurring the most change are using a lot of word of mouth fundamentals to make it happen.
A few quick ideas we can use:
- Never turn down a volunteer. Walk into any well-organized political campaign offering to volunteer, and they’ll have a job ready for you. Plan ahead for your super fans by creating roles and jobs they can fulfill to help spread the word for you.
- Give them a purpose. Great political and charitable groups (and word of mouth programs) treat their supporters as important individuals within a bigger movement — not as mouthpieces for a slogan.
- Have some fun. There’s a reason charitable groups do walk-a-thons, scavenger hunts and 5K runs — they’re a lot more fun to do (and talk about) than cold calls or door-to-door begging.
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…and it's no secret that both these groups are flourishing on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. They've begun to realize how powerful the medium is, and their experience with campaigns makes them naturals for online marketing. Good points, Andy.
It can be debated that social media is what won Barack Obama the presidency. I can't think of a more fitting example of its powerful marketing influence.
What would be an example of a job for a super fan?
Hey Bridget — I'm Cale, the editor with Andy and crew here at GasPedal. A few quick superfan "jobs" could be:
- Give them a kit to host a party / meeting / demo with their friends
- Help publishing — guest blogging, writing articles for your newsletters, etc
- Product testing / sampling
- Brainstorming on new products, etc
- Serve in moderator roles for your online communities
…that's just a quick list. There are literally tons of ways to get your fans involved with duties, jobs, etc.
Hope that helps get you started!
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